Old Guardian Barley Wine Style Ale | Stone Brewing

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Reviews by a0lbudman:

A-a hazy brown color with a large tan head that lingers and leaves a heavy lace
S-heavy hop aroma and a malt mixture
T-heavy wine taste with a heavy hop aftertaste that then goes to a heavy alcohol taste that does not go away
M-medium body and high carbonation
O-The warmer it gets or the more I drink the better this one gets. Never been much of a barley wine person but this one hits the mark

More User Reviews:

Despite a papaya-like colour, Old Guardian looks as rigid as the marble gargoyle on its label. My LED desk lamp may light up the beer but there's no way it's getting through it; turns out even pale amber beers can be opaque. There's not much head but I suppose that's to be expected.

This 2008 vintage smells every bit as sweet (figuratively, though also a little bit literally) than ever. Nearly 7 years in the cellar has only turned this into more of a honey pot of rich, nutty, buttery fruit. Loads of fresh mango, dried apricot, as well as pine resins abound.

Barleywines are something of an anomaly insofar as they can be ultra-malty and simultaneously rich and resiny with hops. This is full of both sticky and tropical flavours; it tastes like caramel coated pineapple or toffee-laced grapefruit. Neither sweepingly bitter nor sweet, this blends the two in a perfect marriage with an abundance of delicious nuances and just a pinch of spice.

Most seductive as always is the texture of Old Guardian. Dried and honeyed orchard fruits promptly excuse themselves on the finish, parting way for leafy-bitter, herbal notes of pine, spruce, and strongly-steeped chamomile that mingle with lasting impressions of toffee, marmalade, and wildflower honey. It has the components to be a powerhouse but is not.

Old Guardian is seemingly immortal - if not the beer itself then certainly my enjoyment of it (not to mention the fond nostalgia of vintages past). If my cellar consisted of just one brand it'd probably be this one. To my knowledge there is no liquid better suited to moments of quiet reflection. This was an early favourite of mine and one that I continue to return to year after year.

Growler into pint glass. 2013 release (and yes, I trust State Line Liquors in Elkton, MD in this regard). Clear, dark amber with a thin, off-white head that dissipates rapidly....
But enough of this visual crap. You want to know what it tastes like, right? OMFG. This is exceptionally good! Maltiness vs hops (a draw); sweetness vs bitterness (another draw); big, thick, chewy mouthfeel that isn't syrupy but is reeeeeeally smooth. ABV is (too?) well hidden - it drinks like an 8 percenter, but it definitely packs a punch.
This is good stuff. Get you some.

Comes in a slightly hazy, dark amber color with a finger of beige head.

The aroma is ripe with dark fruits and complex malts. Cherry, vanilla, caramel, pine, molasses, apricot, plum, and raisin.
Up front you get candy sweet malt flavors of caramel, molasses, baked bread, and brown sugar, followed a wallop of brandy-soaked cherries, figs, plums, raisins, and vanilla. It's like a boozy gingerbread cake. On the finish you get earth, grapefruit, orange, lemon, apricot, pineapple, and pine, and then grapefruit and pine linger long after the finish.

This beer is full-bodied, sticky, and yet smooth, with the perfect amount of carbonation.

This beer is freaking delicious. It drinks way too easy for 11.2% abv, and every sip is pleasure and destroys the palate with a medley of flavors. Another winner from Stone and a motivation to drink more barleywine!

2010 vintage, poured into a 12 ounce snifter. Pours a dark orange, slight oxidation, tons of apricot and peach on the nose. Taste is amazing rich and full, tons of mid-range color fruit, thick mouth-feel, wish I had more than one bottle...

Giving those deep copper and amber appearance feels, this one has a thin 1/2" head that dissipates quickly. Aroma was lots of crystal malt, lots of c hops, lots of alcohol.

Taste is much like Ruination, but even bigger. Waves of crystal malt and hop bitterness with the stinging bite of a double digit abv. So much malt it doesn't seem as hoppy as it is, but I'm confident this clocks in around the 100 ibu range. So if you're up for something huge, check it out. Not an every day drinker, decent in small quantities, but no way am I doming an entire 22oz of this to myself.

Still considerably hoppy. Pretty herbal/green and sharp. Balanced pretty well by the sweet malt base that has quite a bit of carmalized sugars. Tastes like a fig newton and the toffee flavors are so strong that it comes across like chocolate a little bit.

A tad astringent, but a very nice American Barleywine overall. I think that I like this one more than a 2 year old Bigfoot.

Returned to this beer (the first barleywine I ever tasted) at a barleywine tasting with friends. A vertical with 2011 and 2015 present. Served in a Kuhnhenn XV tasting glass. The 2015 was far fizzier and hoppier than I expected from a beer branding itself as a barleywine, though definitely notes of big malt, raisins, and figs were lurking under the surface. The 2011 mellowed the hop of the 2015 dramatically, and brought it much more inline with the style, though interesting notes of now-more-savory-than-astringent hops came through. There was also a unique, almost raspberry or strawberry jam profile to the 2011 which was an interesting departure from the typically-darker-fruits present in the style. Overall, excellent - a beer that truly benefits from cellaring.

After taking a one year hiatus from Old Guardian I decided to pick up the 2012 today,glad I did.Poured into in impy nonic a rich deep amber with a creamy slight off white one finger head,great rich clarity to the color.Yeast and brown sugar in the nose mainly,some stinging alcohol also as it warms,not much hop presence.Brown sugar and cakey flavors at the start with underlying alcohol notes,now the resiny hops come in and make for a dry even a litle raw finish.This is brash and big it's boozy with a big hop presence like I would think an OG would be,Iam gonna cellar one and see in six months how it is,as for this "young" one, I loved it.

T: A smooth, rich caramel malt flavor with a moderately-strong hops bitterness and some alcohol sweetness on the back end. Not surprising that there is little citrus hops flavor left after aging. There is some moderate dark fruit flavors. The balance is bitter and alcohol but there is a good backbone of malt sweetness as well giving an moderately dry finish.

Ruby-copper in appearance. Pretty transparent. About a finger and a half of off-white head. Lacing is semi-tight with minimal retention. Not the strongest nose. A bit of smoke, some dark fruit. Smelling a sort of candied fruit, not quite caramel. Not much there. Thick apricoty-toffee in front, not overly strong. That shifts to again a smokey sort of bitterness, which is not the best. Tastes like more of a DIPA than a barleywine. I'm getting a lot of pine in the back end and a lot of bitter. That's fine, I guess, but it's not what I want from a barley wine. Probably much better with a few years under its belt.

A - Dark amber, large off white head, a good bit of carbonation for a barley wine keep the head tall for awhile.

S - Lots of malt in this bad boy, you get hints of toffee, but the aroma is about the hops...earthy and citrus.

T - Starts off with a lot of malt, sweet toffee and some slightly toasted malts. The resinous hop character then comes on with citrus quickly followed by a good bit of alcohol flavor. This barelywine is young and does not come close to hiding the fact that it is 11%...some more age would help smooth it out. End with a bitter bang of hops.

M - Full bodied beer, the alcohol and carbonation help keep it from being overbearing, but this is a sipper regardless. Ends with quite a bit of alcohol warmth.

O - This is good American Barleywine that would certainly improve with some aging. Lots of good flavors and qualities that would meld together and round out over time.